Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
EMBER
Starlight Bay in the fall is breathtaking. I gaze out the car window as Drake drives, the maples blazing like fire along the avenue, their fallen leaves swirling at the roots. Drake’s tyres crunch over a gold and crimson carpet, the sound as crisp as the air itself.
“Do you think something’s going on with Flint and Seraphina?” Drake says with a curl of his lips as he turns the steering wheel.
I chew the inside of my mouth. “She dated my nephew for years. She’s like a daughter to him. She has no family, and I think he sort of feels responsible for her.”
“Right,” he says, and I can’t tell if it’s sarcasm or not.
“Daddy, can we go to the park?” Sienna shouts as we pass the children’s play park and sports field.
Drake flashes me a grin. “Do you have to get back?”
“I have time for the park.” I smile back at Sienna, now bouncing in her booster seat.
Drake parks the truck near the entrance for the swings, and Sienna is the first to jump out and run to the gate. “Stay where I can see you, bug,” he shouts as he rounds the truck to my side.
Like a true gentleman, he opens the door, grabs my crutch and helps me out of his monster truck.
“Thanks.”
“Can’t have a splattered pumpkin on the pavement, can we?”
I hobble after him and Sienna with the crutch under my arm and close the gate behind me to the park before heading for the nearest bench.
Leaves skitter across the path as if they’re racing us, the air carrying that damp, woodsmoke scent that clings to your clothes this time of year.
Kids laugh in the distance, their voices matching the squeak of the swings.
Sienna’s already on a swing, with Drake pushing her from behind, the two of them laughing like they’ve done this a thousand times.
I soak in the autumn breeze with a heavy heart, knowing I’ll never have the joys of pushing a child of my own on a swing, the simple joy of them squealing, “higher, Mommy.” My heart breaks for all the missed park visits I could have had.
I often tell myself I’m fine with cats instead of kids, that it was never on my bingo card.
But watching them together, I feel a sharp pang of regret for everything I’ll never have.
It never really bothered me until it became the reason I’m alone. Looking back now, I realise I had a lucky escape from my ex-husband. But the scar he left on my heart still stings.
Drake drops onto the bench next to me, catching his breath. "I don’t know where she gets her energy from.” He watches Sienna kick her legs out and tuck them back in again as she swings back and forth, a smile reaching his eyes.
He nudges my shoulder. “You look like you were deep in thought there. What’s on your mind?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking about how nice it will be to finally get this cast off my foot.”
“Yeah, you owe me a dance.” His lips curve into a smile, and I can’t help but match it with one of my own.
“Daddy, look how high I am,” Sienna shouts.
“Be careful.” He waves at her on the swing. “She’s really settled in here, better than I expected.”
“How are you liking it here in Starlight Bay?” I ask.
“It’s feeling more like home.” He runs a hand down his face with a sigh.
“I couldn’t carry on like I was back in England.
Harold and May had offered to move to the UK, but then Phoenix called about the job, and I knew it was the right move.
” He waves at Sienna again with a sad, whimsical look on his face.
“A year after the accident and I would roll over in bed and still reach for Elise, like my body hadn’t caught up to my head, then reality would hit.
She wasn’t there, and she was never coming back. ”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that.” My chest aches for him and his daughter.
“So am I, but since moving here, it’s like we’ve got a new lease of life.” He nods to Sienna on the swing. “She’s so much happier.” His hand drops to his side and brushes against mine. Sparks caress my skin as his calloused fingers stroke against mine.
“We can’t do this, Drake.”
“Do what?” He interlaces our fingers together, and I don’t protest. I love how my hand fits in his large palm, and despite me being ten years older, I feel smaller with him. Protected. Cared for.
A gust tugs at my hair, scattering red strands across my face like the leaves tumbling from the trees. “We can’t have a relationship. It’s too complicated.”
“Why? Because I have a daughter. A past?”
I furrow my brow. “No. Sienna has nothing to do with this.”
He brushes back a loose strand of hair and tucks it behind my ear. “What the hell did star face do to you?”
“Star face?”
“Your ex. The guy with the star sticker covering his face.”
“Oh. Him. We don’t talk about him.”
“Whatever he did made you think you don’t deserve love, or made you think you should be alone.” His hand squeezes mine. “I’m not him, Ember.”
Tingles race up my arm and zap my heart. “I can’t give you what you want. There are other women who would be better suited for you.”
“But I don’t want other women.” His calloused thumb strokes my cheek.
“I want the hot mess. I want the kind and caring woman who opens her home up to stray cats. The fiery woman who makes pumpkins look tasty, and I want the intelligent woman who can teach my daughter to be strong and independent just like her.”
“Drake…” His name on my tongue is nothing but a whisper as he brushes his lips against mine. “We shouldn’t do this in front of Sienna.”
His fingers curl around my neck, holding me in place. “I’ve talked with her about dating you.” He pulls away to gaze into my eyes. “How are you at braiding hair?”
“I can braid my own, why?”
He smiles, inching closer to my lips. “Because I’m rubbish at it, apparently. Sienna likes you. She’s okay with us dating.”
“But we’re not da—“
“Shh.” His tongue teases the seam of my mouth, my heart racing, tingles coursing through my veins.
Maybe I should protest more, but as I close my eyes, his warmth seeps into my skin and a moan vibrates into his mouth as our tongues tangle together.
Stubble scratches my chin, and I can’t believe he wants me.
Of everyone else in this town, he wants me.
The hot mess crazy cat lady. I smile at his words, but the truth is I’ve never felt more seen.
Drake deepens the kiss, scorching my lips, his tongue licking at mine like flames.
“Daddy, are you and Miss Sparks getting married?”
I pull away and open my eyes to Sienna standing before us, the swing abandoned behind her, still swaying in the breeze. A hollow pit opens in my stomach. Part of me longs for a marriage, partner, soulmate, even though I’m terrified of it.
Drake clears his throat. “Not today, bug, but when we do, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Can I have a pretty white dress too?”
“You can have whatever dress you want.” He smiles as she twirls and skips to the slide.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that with Sienna watching. I was just swept up in the moment.” He presses his lips to mine again, briefly. “I’ve wanted to kiss you again since the other night.”
“Same.” I gasp at my own admission. But it’s the truth. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about our kiss. But I know when he hears the truth about me, his feelings will change, and it’s not fair to lead him or Sienna on.
This is the moment I’ll replay when he’s gone—me, him, his daughter, laughter in the park. A little slice of normal I’ve always wanted but don’t believe I deserve.
“I’m too old for you.”
He chuckles under his breath. “Is that what this is about? You think you’re too old for me?”
“Well, I’m forty. You’re…” I wave a hand up and down, gesturing at him in his prime.
“I’m just a single dad, muddling through life, doing my best like the rest of us, and grabbing onto any sliver of happiness where I can.
” His blue eyes dull as if a rain cloud is covering the sky.
“My wife was younger than me. We thought we had the rest of our lives together. But life didn’t pan out that way.
If I’ve learnt anything, it’s that when love sparks, you grab hold of it with both hands and cling on to it for as long as you can. ”
“Love?”
“You know what I mean, pumpkin.” His lips curve into a smile.
“You know every time you call me that, I’m gonna call you dragon boy.”
“I told you, I prefer Mr. October.” He chuckles silently, shaking his shoulders. “What I’m trying to say, is that none of us are promised tomorrow. That’s why we have to make the most of each day and enjoy the time we have.”
“Today is a gift, that’s why we call it the present.” I recite the writing on the classroom wall. Maybe I have been living in the past. “He cheated on me, Drake.”
His jaw clenches. “Bastard.” We sit in silence, watching Sienna on the monkey bars. “I’m glad you don’t have to deal with him anymore.”
I huff out a half laugh. “I still see him every day at the school gates. He’s got two kids now—a nine-year-old daughter, and a six-year-old son in my class.
And I stand there, pretending it doesn’t still sting.
” I let out a long sigh. “I’m fine. It’s all fine.
I don’t even miss him. What hurt the most was that I wasn’t enough for him.
I just felt worthless. I’m not grieving him as much as I’m grieving the woman I was back then.
Before he ruined my confidence, and yes, you’re probably right.
He made me believe I didn’t deserve love.
It’s hard to break these habits and thoughts. ”
“One day at a time. It’s all I’m asking.” He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “I can’t promise you forever. I don’t know what the future holds for any of us, but I can promise I’ll never cheat on you or intentionally hurt you.”
“All right. I can live with that.” The way his hand envelopes mine, warm and sure, makes me want to believe in second chances. But I know the higher I climb, the harder the fall when it ends. But if all he’s asking for is one day at a time, I can handle that.
“Besides, you’re gonna need someone to take care of you when you’re old.” He nudges my shoulder with a laugh.
I lift my leg, pointing my crutch at the cast on my foot. “I already feel like a fossil.”
“Well, you’re still here, causing chaos. Maybe there’s some fire left in your old bones.”
“Maybe just embers inside.”
He leans in close, his thumb brushing my jaw, tilting my chin.. “Exactly…” His lips hover a whisper from mine. “They’re just waiting for the right spark.”